HISTORIA DE LA RADIO POR INTERNET

After the pre-positioning warehouse location factors were determined and confirmed by the members, the factors that required their approval were structured on the decision hierarchy. The factors were initially grouped into related attributes for the first round. It became clear at this point that the attributes could be grouped and formed into a hierarchical structure. There was very little disagreement among the members and, fortunately, this took only two rounds to complete (see Table 6.4).

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Table 6.4 Forming of hierarchical structure of regional determining location attributes

Rounds 1 2

Date 29-03-2011 31-03-2011

Goal Form hierarchical structure Form hierarchical structure

Result Participants grouped the related attributes and structure them into hierarchical level. Had little disagreement in the first place but ended agreeing with the structure

Participants agreed with the decision hierarchical structure that was made in the previous round

Source: Author

The decision hierarchical structure for pre-positioning warehouse location attributes for International Humanitarian Organisation A is illustrated in Figure 6.3, along with their explanations.

Location (C1)

All the respondents replied that one of the crucial factors for a pre-positioned warehouse is the location related attributes. The location related factors are:

1. Geographical location (SC11);

2. Proximity to beneficiaries (SC12);

3. Disaster free location (SC13);

4. Donor‟s opinion (SC14);

5. Climate (SC15);

6. Closeness to other warehouses (SC16); and,

7. Proximity to disaster prone areas (SC17).

Disaster free location (SC13) was brought up in the meeting. Locating the pre-positioned

warehouse near to the beneficiaries and potential disaster location will reduce the delivery time and cost, however this will be useless if the warehouse get destroyed by disasters (Respondents A8 and A11). Campbell and Jones (2011), Rawls and Turnquist (2006), and Ukkusuri and Yushimoto (2008) modelled the pre-positioned warehouse considering the facility not being destroyed/damaged by the disasters.

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National Stability (C2)

The group members agreed to break the national stability factors into three sub-criteria, which are:

1. Political (SC21);

2. Economical (SC22); and,

3. Social (SC23).

The working members discussed how a stable political situation is important for the organisation to operate a pre-positioned warehouse. A government direction which is easier to predict will make it easier to negotiate and communicate with them so that a deal can be arrived at (Respondent A1). The first findings in the exploratory study (i.e. political, economic, and government stability) were grouped together. Later, Social stability (which means that there is less risk of riots or protest towards the government) was added under the government (national) stability along with political and economic stability as in Kayikci (2010).

Cost (C3)

The attributes related to cost were rather easy for the group working members to organise. The cost related attributes were consisted of:

1. Storage (SC31);

2. Logistics (SC32);

3. Replenishment (SC33);

4. Labour (SC34); and,

5. Land (SC35).

The panels did not feel that land and labour costs are an issue for their organisation because most of the land that they use is provided to them to purchase free of charge from the government while most of the contractors who work in the warehouse are working for low wages. Meanwhile, they reported that the storage costs include the maintenance of some of the relief items (such as armoured-vehicles, cold storage items, and forklifts). They also described how replenishment costs arise from purchasing relief items due to competitive prices, productivity and accessibility in the local and neighbouring countries (Respondent A2). They added that logistics costs include supplying a pre-positioned warehouse to the aid recipients and supplying other regional warehouses.

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Cooperation (C4)

The cooperation of different actors was seen as a major issue for many members of the panel, which was initially triggered by discussing the existence and cooperation of other agents (e.g. NGOs and logistics companies). The panel discussed that locating a pre-positioned warehouse needs the help of many organisations that are involved in the humanitarian relief operation, including:

1. Host Government (SC41);

2. United Nations (SC42);

3. Neighbour Countries (SC43);

4. Logistics Agents (SC44);

5. International NGOs (SC45); and,

6. Local NGOs (SC46).

Logistics companies are important in providing trained and qualified logisticians who are capable of providing an efficient service (Respondents A7 and A9). However, the panel tended to emphasise the role of the host government because they are the body that will allow tax exemption of relief items and who will offer warehouse facilities (including land or a warehouse), prompt financial systems, and other benefits that could attract the organisation to contribute.

Logistics (C5)

Logistics related factors are divided into: 1. Airport (SC51);

2. Seaport (SC52);

3. Road (SC53); and,

4. Warehouse (SC54).

The panel reported that the connectivity of the transport mode was a major concern when they approach the pre-positioned warehouse location decision-making problem. The existence of airports, seaports, warehouses, and roads are crucial to transport connectivity and they can enable an effective immediate response to be provided. In addition, the logistics services provided by these logistics agents are also crucial (Respondents A1 and A7). In the findings of the exploratory study the logistics services were exposed by various terms, including: trained and qualified personnel, labour availability, and logistics services. The panel decided

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to group these terms together into one major attribute (i.e. logistics). Therefore, the major attribute of „logistics‟ includes the availability of transport connectivity and logistics services.

The panel also reported that an airport is an important factor for the organisation because most emergency relief items are delivered through air-chartered flights in order to provide a quick response. To enable this response, the airport needs to have suitable capacity to handle large aircraft up to B747. Flights are chartered if there are no national carrier connections to the disaster area; however, it is often faster to charter a national carrier than to search for available flights from other countries. More national carrier connections will speed the delivery of emergency relief items while using less effort. In addition, an abundant availability of local air cargo companies can lower the burden of chartering aircraft when short of time (Respondents A3 and A4). The airport‟s operational ability should be capable of handling air cargo effectively and in a professional manner.

The panel reported that a seaport is another important logistics infrastructure attribute when making the pre-positioned warehouse location decision. Seaports are normally used to receive large quantities of relief items from suppliers for replenishment purpose and to deliver relief to regional warehouses for long-term post-disaster relief operations (Respondents A1 and A6). Seaports should have frequent departure schedules, which mean that if they miss a shipment they will not have to wait long for the next arrival (Respondents A1 and A5). The facilities of the seaport affect the operating cost, the quality of the storage, and the handling time. The handling capacity must be adequate for the organisation to deal with the large quantity of relief items in one shipment. In addition, the distance from the warehouse is crucial because short transport routes will save time and money (Respondents A1 and A8).

Warehouse related factors are importance in logistics. The capacity of the warehouse should have adequate space to store large amounts of relief items (Respondent A10). The relief items are highly valuable and are always in a target for theft (Respondent A2). For this reason, the expert panels are always concerned with security issues and safeness of the warehouse. Warehouse should be near to the urban facilities for electricity and water supplies.

In the interviews the panel reported that road-related attributes include the condition of the roads, the availability of trucking services, and the number of road connections. The road conditions can have a significant effect on: the delivery time from the warehouse to the airport,

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the safety of the drivers and on the number and types of relief items that can be carried (Respondent A1 and A7). Since the international emergency relief items are usually delivered via air charter, the number of road connections with neighbouring countries is less likely to be a concern (Respondent A3); however, there are cases in the African region where the relief items are delivered via road from pre-positioned warehouses considered to be important (Respondents A3 and A5).

Figure 6.3 Decision hierarchical structures for regional determining warehouse location attributes

Source: Author

Geographical Location (SC11) Proximity to Beneficiaries (SC12) Disaster Free Location (SC13) Donor‟s Opinion (SC14) Climate (SC15)

Closeness to Other Warehouses (SC16) Proximity to Disaster Prone Areas (SC17) Political (SC21) Economical (SC22) Social (SC23) Storage (SC31) Logistics (SC32) Replenishment (SC33) Labour (SC34) Land (SC35) Host Government (SC41) United Nations (SC42) Neighbour Countries (SC43) Logistics Agents (SC44) International NGOs (SC45) Local NGOs (SC46) Airport (SC51) Seaport (SC52) Road (SC53) Warehouse (SC54) Location (C1) Wa rehous e L oc at ion A tt ri b ut es Logistics (C5) National Stability (C2) Cost (C3) Cooperation (C4)

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